Boston, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts is a pretty colonial town named after Boston, Lancashire in United Kingdom. The city’s charming New England architecture – especially red-bricked walls and history – creates a memorable experience while strolling around the city.

I started off at the historic Boston Stone, and went to Boston Public Market for breakfast, and strolled around the various vendors selling local produce and gourmet treats. A must-see here is the Old State House – the original seat of colonial capital.

Nearby, is the historic Quincy Market. There is a plethora of quirky treats and shops here and two things caught my eye. The first one were the lobster shops. I had the hot sandwich which was garlic-buttered fresh-made buns with large chunks of steaming lobster inside.  The second was the the Cheers bar, which was the location of Cheers, the iconic TV series.

There was also a powerful Holocaust Memorial with glass squares with the names of victims etched on it, as well as pseudo-embers burning underneath the feet on the ground to emulate the murder method. This was unfortunately vandalized in a white-supremacist rally.

The tiny cobbled streets in the area is reminiscent of Irish countryside towns. Then, to catch a magnificent sunset, I head over to the Boston Harbor. This place has a beautiful garden, pretty houses by the boardwalks and swanky Yatches and Motor-boats returning to land from the horizon.

I had a hot pot of Boston Oysters in one of the scatterations of Irish Pubs, Taverns and Restaurants, from 1600s and 1700s. These exude the history of Irish immigration on East Coast, and some restaurants were places where the American Revolutionaries, Freethinkers and Founding Fathers hung out and discussed dangerous ideas (like rebellion against the British Crown) over beers and whiskey. (The British Empire had strict punishment – public hanging over any suspicion of treason against them).

The Union Oyster House has some of the best seafood in the country, while the Bell in Hand Tavern proudly claims to be the first bar in America. In this area, there are many more historic sites, museums, aquariums, taverns, cathedrals and trendy bars and cafes.

The next day, I head over north to the college town of Cambridge, Massachusetts and explore the campuses of Harvard and MIT. Harvard had beautiful Colonial-Era red-brick buildings and beautiful gardens exuding history and Old School ambiance. The MIT campus was more modern and wedged between other town buildings. There are squares of cheap food and lively music and poetry renditions by students.

I was also able to witness a boating race on the Charles River, similar to the one Mark Zuckerburg and his friends did during their time at Harvard before they went on to create Facebook.